Reverse
by x-YaoiWolf-x
Summary: Cloud Strife is the last being alive on a dying Planet and has more or less reconciled himself, if grudgingly and not without complaints, to his never ending existence and fate. That is, until a face from beyond the grave comes and offers him a chance. Not one he was entirely expecting, and after obtaining more information, not one he's sure he wants to take. -Prompt Exchange Fic-


**Title: **Reverse  
**Author: **x-YaoiWolf-x  
**Rating: **T  
**Warning: **Not much to warn for here since this doesn't have much in it.  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Final Fantasy VII or it's characters. Nor do I own the song mentioned.

**AN: **This is only a prequel oneshot thing. I might end up changing the title and just using it as a prologue later, but for now this stands as a quick prequel to a time-travel that may take ages to get written and uploaded. Don't get your hopes up! :3

Anyway, written for the Prompt Exchange Challenge forum by Unattainable Dreams. The prompt was for the song Reverse by Gabrielle Aplin. I had never heard this song before this and I have to say now that I have I like it. It's a good song and if you haven't heard it, you should go give it a try. This fic was written with just the one line in mind but the entire theme of the song as a thought in the background. Still, the one line is what this came from, just so you don't confuse that.

In any case, on with the story!

**-x-x-x-**

"And I hope someday this will all Reverse and send us back to the times before…"

- Gabrielle Aplin (Reverse)

**-x-x-x-**

The view from where he stood was everything and nothing. Depending on who you were and how you felt at the time, the place could bring you joy, fill you with hope, or plague you with longing or a biting sorrow. Cloud, for his part, felt nothing. If he had to call it anything, he felt numb and, for the moment, something similar to a disquiet sort of restlessness.

The blonde sighed down at the sword he'd stuck into the ground of the dilapidated church in what was once a place called only Sector 5. It had been over six centuries since the land he now stood on had been called anything at all. The church was no longer even standing. The only evidence that it had ever existed at all was the vast field of white and yellow flowers now growing in every direction around the blade he'd planted there. A small lake, perhaps even too small to be called a lake, sat in the center of the expanse right before him and the sword. The Buster Sword, he should say.

Looking about, Cloud found that the decay that had been happening in every corner of the planet save the Ancient Capitol hadn't touched this field either. Could that be because it had also been cultivated by the Cetra, even if it had only been one half-blooded descendant of that race?

Cloud shook his head, it didn't matter. She, like everyone else, was long gone. Returned to the Lifestream. Often times he wished he had been allowed to join them there instead of being left to wander as the last living being on all of Gaia. Guardian of the Planet. He scoffed. What was there to guard but a rotting husk that died only a miniscule amount every passing day, yet would never again sustain life in it's nearly plantless barren state?

"Those aren't very becoming thoughts, Cloud?" A voice long forgotten, yet achingly familiar interrupted his trail of thinking and he found himself standing in the same field now surrounded in a landscape of white on every horizon. A familiar, long lost warmth pressed gently against his back.

"Aerith…" he breathed, not wanting to disturb the waking dream by speaking loudly or with force. The name fell like a whisper from his lips.

"Yes," she giggled. "It's been a while."

Cloud actually rolled his eyes at the understatement.

"Half a dozen centuries, at least," Cloud commented offhandedly, earning another light giggle from the half-Cetra woman. She swatted his arm.

"So it's been a few years, that's no reason to mope about and act all solemn and angst ridden, is it?"

Cloud fought the urge to turn and stare to make sure she hadn't grown any extra heads while she'd been off in the Lifestream. He knew from experience that turning usually sent her away. He'd never really figured out why that was, but he didn't want to test it. It really had been half a dozen centuries and at least one of those centuries had passed without anyone to talk to.

"I haven't been moping," he replied as stoically as he could, though a smile threatened to spread across his face. When she only laughed again, Cloud shook his head. "Enough about me, I know you've been watching so you already know enough on that subject." He crossed his arms. "What have _you_ been up to?"

"Oh, the usual," she shrugged. "Spying on you, chatting with the others, doing Gaia's bidding." She ticked off on her fingers as she listed things off. "Oh! And selling flowers!"

"Selling flowers?" Cloud raised one eyebrow. "In the Lifestream? Really?"

"Don't sound so disbelieving, Cloud," she chastised, a pout in place as she crossed her own arms. "I can sell flowers if I want! It's a free Lifestream! Flowers don't grow on trees even in death, you know!"

Cloud actually found himself laughing at her tone and the things she was saying. Flowers don't grow on trees? Honestly.

"Aerith. Even if they're not abundant, even in the Lifestream I'm sure flowers do grow on trees."

She huffed and rolled her eyes.

"That is beside the point, Cloud Augustus Strife," he winced at his middle name. No one had called him that even when they were all alive.

"I see you've been talking to Ma."

"Why, yes," she nodded, giving a pleasant smile. "I have. She says hi and she loves you. She told me to make sure you were eating properly and not wallowing away to nothingness. Elsie is a wonderful person! She gets along very well with the other moms, too. Both my mothers simply love her."

"That's nice," Cloud smiled, genuinely happy to hear about his mum. "How are the others?"

"Everyone's doing well," Aerith hummed, pressing the fingertips of both her hands together and nodding to herself. "They're all pretty much the same as the last time we talked."

That had been right after the last time with Sephiroth and the remnants. Since then they'd all been living… well, non-living – dwelling? – peacefully in the Lifestream. Most of them anyway, except Sephiroth. Sephiroth hadn't been doing all that well where he'd been in the stream. The planet had been working on him for years since then, according to what Aerith had said Gaia had planned for the silver-haired man, but since then he hadn't heard anything.

He was a bit reluctant to ask about him now, though.

He had come to terms with a lot of things over the course of his unending existence, yet even now as he stood with his back against hers in the land between his own consciousness and the Lifestream itself, Cloud could feel the guilt that swam behind his every thought. The blonde had never really allowed the regret to fully disperse from his heart, never forgiven himself completely for the things he felt were his fault.

Aerith, in all her gentle loving kindness, had forgiven him. He had decided to forgive himself for that, too. He hadn't really let her die, she'd convinced him of that. It hadn't been his fault. Okay. He understood and accepted that. Zack, ever kind and understanding, had forgiven him, as well. He hadn't let him die. He'd been powerless. If he had been at all capable, he would have fought alongside him. If he could, but he couldn't. It had been impossible, and he shouldn't beat himself up for something that had been the result of Hojo's immoral practices. Cloud had been stubborn about it for ages, but eventually, he'd forgiven himself for that, too.

A lot of things he'd regretted when the others were alive, things that had cropped up even after he'd allowed himself to be free of the guilt of those two, had been slowly resolved and done away with of his own accord. Not always right away, but after a long brood fest he would give himself some slack and really think it through. Usually that led to resolving the problems in his own mind and forgetting all about them.

There was really only one thing he wasn't entirely willing to forgive himself for. Would probably never allow himself to forget and let go. One person he wished he could've saved more than anyone.

"Sephiroth…" the name slipped from his lips unbidden and he blinked when he realized it had been spoken aloud.

"Oh!" Aerith cried, as if she hadn't even thought about the man until Cloud had uttered his name. Cloud nearly whirled to face her at the exclamation, but stopped midway when he heard a small laugh from the woman. "Sephiroth's not in the stream."

Cloud almost choked on a breath at the nonchalant way she said it.

"Not in the Lifestream?" he asked both dumbfounded and bewildered. "Where else could he possible be?"

"Well…" Aerith trailed off and Cloud wasn't sure he wanted to know anymore. "He's just not."

What did that even mean? Not what? Not there, sure, but if not there where?

"Existent, Cloud," Aerith clarified. "He'd non-existent. Doesn't exist as anything more than a memory. He wouldn't even be a memory if you didn't remember him. None of us in the stream do… not anymore."

She shrugged as if the revelation she'd just dropped on him was nothing but a fact with no consequence to anyone. Cloud's entire thought process had screeched to a halt at the explanation. Sephiroth was nothing more than a memory? Even less than that? He was only a figment of Cloud's imagination as far as Aerith had explained it.

"A memory…" he couldn't believe that.

"Cloud," Aerith's voice was firm all of a sudden and Cloud snapped his head up to listen. Her tone had changed and he knew that whatever she was about to say or ask would mean something. "If Gaia were to reset at a specific point in time, could you do it again?"

"Exactly the same way?" There was no pause between the end of her question and the beginning of his own. She nodded and he sighed. "That's impossible."

It would only work that way if he didn't remember anything once the world reset itself.

"Why are you asking?" He asked, wishing now more than ever that he could speak directly to her instead of facing away from each other.

"Gaia is dying."

'Obviously', he wanted to blurt out, but held it. The topic was shaping up to be serious, it wasn't the time for sarcasm.

"There is no Omega or Chaos anymore. They only exist as memories of the planet herself. They can't carry out the purpose they were created for when they no longer even exist. There is only one plausible action for Gaia to take."

"And what is that?" Cloud asked when her pause went on longer than it should have.

"Gaia will reset. Rather, rewind. Reverse the progression of time to a point when she will at least have more of a chance to live as she should've from the beginning."

"How?" Cloud wasn't sure how all of this would work, but he knew that it was something that shouldn't be possible even for the Planet. Aerith bit her lip before letting out a sigh and continuing.

"The Cetra." Cloud tilted his head in question but didn't ask aloud. "By consuming, almost literally, the existence of the Cetra who dwell within the very lifeblood of the planet, Gaia should have enough power to do this. Just once."

"And you?" Cloud had to ask. Would she cease to be, as well?

"Not me," Aerith replied, her voice a mixture of reassurance and reluctance. He could tell she had mixed feelings about the fate of her own race and that of the Planet itself. "Not my mother either. She needs at least one of us left to communicate with her, and at the point of time she wishes to return to I wouldn't be born yet."

Cloud nodded, relieved. He supposed it made a certain kind of sense.

"What does that mean for me?"

"You get a choice."

"A choice?"

"Two choices," She held up two fingers, though he couldn't see them. "Life or Death. Both or Neither."

"Both or Neither?" What did that mean?

"Life and Death or Nonexistence," she chirped. "Your choice."

Was there even a choice? He studied the half-blood Ancient in the periphery of his vision. She looked worried, as if he might pick the wrong answer. He didn't want to think about it. He thought too much already. Or so the Zack voice in the back of his head would say. He chuckled.

"Alright," he nodded to himself to reaffirm the decision. He would go with his instinct just this once. Behind him, Aerith blinked.

"You- you'd do it?" She stuttered. "I mean, you choose both?"

He nodded again, this time in answer to her question.

"Only if the Planet is willing to negotiate."

"Negotiate? With the planet…?" She sounded as if it had never occurred to her. Cloud frowned.

"Yes," he stated firmly. "If Gaia won't meet my conditions, I'll choose nonexistence and she can find someone else's back to pin the title of 'Guardian' on."

Aerith was silent for a long time after that, presumably speaking with Mother Gaia, before she returned to the previous conversation. When she finished, she herself turned to look at him. Cloud almost turned around himself, but her hand on his arm stopped him. Apparently, he still wasn't allowed to turn around.

"What are your conditions, Cloud?" Aerith asked, all business. "The Planet will only listen to three and won't grant anything unreasonable."

He shrugged at the information. He didn't mind not existing. If the Planet really wouldn't let him have his way, he would let it erase him entirely. If it did allow him the leeway he desired, well, all the better, he supposed. He gave a list of his stipulations one right after the other.

"First. I'm not going to do it all exactly the same. It's impossible no matter what the Planet thinks. I'm not going to put in the effort to kill my mental and emotional sanity all over again. Second, I won't be the hero. Never again," he shook his head harshly at the thought of it. He didn't want it, they couldn't make him. "I didn't ask for it the first time, I won't allow it again. Last. This is the most important," Cloud took a deep breath and let it out in one harsh sigh. "I will not do this alone."

"You won't be," Aerith felt she had to reassure him of that. "I'll be there, remember?"

"No," the blonde sighed. "You're not enough."

"Then who?" She implored, not knowing who she could possible ask if she wasn't enough. There were choices, yes, but they were all happy in the stream with no idea that any of this was even taking place. As far as they knew, she was only off visiting other friends farther through the Lifestream than they were. Suddenly, a flash seemed to almost echo in her head and she gasped out loud at the feeling of it; as if a white hot blade had just passed through her forehead.

Cloud felt a thread of worry when Aerith's grip on his arm tightened abruptly and she began to slide to her knees. He didn't turn, but he wished he could. The woman was shaking her head, muttering every now and again, a hand pressed to her forehead.

"…I don't think… but… are you sure?" She scrunched her brows together in a frown. "I do, it's just…" Silence stretched for a while more and Cloud stood confused. A moment later, Aerith stood with a sigh. "Okay…"

"There will be help." She looked at him then and he could see the resolve in her emerald eyes.

"Who?" He asked. His breath caught in his chest at the answer she gave.

"Sephiroth."

Sephiroth? The one who was now only a memory in Cloud's own mind and nothing more? It had been lifetimes since he'd seen or heard the man's name, though always of all the people and thoughts that passed through his mind His was the name that came up most. Of all his regrets, Sephiroth was the greatest. More than Aerith, more than Zack. Cloud felt an emotion he hadn't felt for a very long time. He couldn't quite name it.

"There might be others, but Gaia wouldn't tell me who they would be or if there really would be anybody else. She only said the Sephiroth would help."

Cloud nodded. Sephiroth, though he couldn't be sure in what state the man might be upon their rewinding, would be the most appreciated partner. He wouldn't mind some extra help, though.

"Are you sure, Cloud?" She asked him. "Do you really want to do this?"

The blonde actually stopped to think about it despite his earlier impulsive answer and found that his answer was still yes. He smiled, the feeling of restlessness he'd felt earlier in the field of wildly growing flowers already lifting. He wanted to do this now that the opportunity had been suggested and the responsibility bestowed.

"Yes, Aerith," He answered. "Take me back."

She nodded and the white consumed them, blanketing the field and closing in around the both of them in a rapid flash. A thought pushed to the front of his mind for a millionth of a second… Hopefully, he wasn't about to do something incredibly stupid… but he banished it in the same moment and smirked.

"Thank you, Aerith," He breathed and there was suddenly nothing but darkness.

**-x-x-x-**

**AN: **And there it is!This is pretty short, I know, but this is how it was supposed to be.

For those who read my previous story titled x-Reverse-x this is my butchering and resubmitting of it. I like this one better no matter how much shorter it is. Basically, I just scrapped the whole thing and wrote what I'd meant to write to begin with. But enough about that, apologies to those who liked the other one, if you really want I could just email it to anyone who'd like it. It's s-crap-ped anyway.

Really, I don't know where the entirety of that previous thing came from, but this is the honest intended version of how it was supposed to turn out. I really hope everyone liked this and looks forward to the rest of it! It might not be up for a long while, but I hope you'll still wait around for it. I don't think it'll make an appearance until after I finish other stories. Sorry. But, hey, let me know what you thought of this! Review/Favorite! Alert if you really want.

I'll be around more during the year for future Prompt Exchange entries and hopefully a few updates! See ya! Much Love, YaoiWolf :3


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